Don't expect Kevin O'Connor to go riding off into the sunset any time soon.

O'Connor, CEO of FirstLight Fiber, formerly Tech Valley Communications, is stepping down from the top job, 13 years after helping to start the Albany-based telecom company, which specializes in building fiber-optic networks for data and phone service.

"I think he's going to do some wonderful things," O'Connor said of Van Wagenen Tuesday from Burlington, Vt., where FirstLight recently completed an acquisition.

O'Connor will retain a board seat at FirstLight and will keep his small ownership stake in the company, which is majority-owned by Riverside Partners, a Boston private equity firm.

O'Connor said he will focus on mergers and acquisitions as a director, likely one of the reasons the company decided to ditch the Tech Valley name. The company's operations have grown beyond the Capital Region and New York's Hudson Valley into New England. FirstLight now has nearly 100 employees.

Despite that growth and the name change, O'Connor says he expects FirstLight to keep its headquarters in Albany, where it has a new lease. Albany is also home to its network operations and data centers.

O'Connor says that in the coming months he will re-emerge on the local business scene with a new venture or two. He said that although he won't be competing with FirstLight, he will use his background in communications. He also won't be going the non-profit route. Before he was one of the founders of FirstLight, O'Connor headed the Center for Economic Growth. He also worked for Gov. Mario M. Cuomo in the Department of Economic Development.

"There's a lot of things that I am interested in," O'Connor said. "I like the technology sector."